Digital Nation

PBS: Frontline: Digital Nation

There is no denying our current culture revolves around technology. Take this blog for example -- my classmates and I made our blogs in a few minutes. Or take texting for example. It is so prevalent amongst our younger population, one would think we no longer have face to face contact. Or take email for example. Indeed, all of these examples lead to the main point made in PBS' documentary "Frontline: Digital Nation" -- technology has changed everything we do, whether for better or worse. Theirs being a point I find hard to argue with.

One of these changes, according to PBS, is that of the prevalence of multitasking. Often people are seen emailing, texting, instant messaging, and conversing face to face -- all at the same time. A great example of a person doing this would have been me, just before I started writing this post. I had to stop a Skype call with my friends, because I understood that, as PBS says, we cannot multitask as well as we think we can. We become mediocre at each thing we are doing, rather than being great at one task. Since I prefer good writing, I decided to end the immediate social pleasure of a call, and become a antisocial grade-nerd for a bit.

Another change PBS points out rather aptly is that of education. The current generation has been named -- whether aptly or not I have yet to determine -- "Digital Natives", and PBS argued that the current education system doesn't treat us as such. It ignores the fact that we are aliens to the world of paper and pencil -- of book and notes. I think that this is an important shift in paradigm. Students these days are no longer required (thanks to the internet) to call up large collections of memorized data, whether it be dates or constants, for tests, but rather be tested on comprehension, creativity, and problem solving abilities, for those are the stats that matter in an age where anything is just a search away.

Overall, I would agree with what PBS has asserted in their documentary "Frontline: Digital Nation". They spent a good amount of time going out, interviewing people, gathering data, and seeing how this change really is -- a force for good and change for Humanity. I find it rather compelling to look at the most recent "Arab Spring", as its called, and the role of things like Facebook and Twitter. I have no reservations about the technology we use every day changing the world -- indeed, I figure that those who don't embrace this change will be left behind in the wave of the Digital Revolution.

Here, just for kicks:

Source: mideastposts.com

Eric Guinn